Katie Taylor avenged her loss to Chantelle Cameron on Saturday to become the undisputed junior welterweight champion in front of her fans at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.
Taylor (23-1, 6 KOs), scored a majority decision victory over Cameron (18-1, 8 KOs). In their first fight back in May, Cameron outpointed Taylor by majority decision. The victory puts Taylor as only the second women fighter to be undisputed in two different division in the four-belt era (lightweight and junior welterweight). Claressa Shields is the only other women boxer to be undisputed in two divisions, junior middleweight and middleweight.
“That was the longest six months of my life,” Taylor said during her post-fight interview. “This was my real homecoming tonight. Whoever wrote me off don’t know me very well. Don’t ever doubt me. Tonight you saw the real me, and no one can beat me like that.
“You learn most from your failures. That’s where your growth comes from. Never give up.”
Taylor moves one spot to No. 2 in the ESPN women’s pound-for-pound rankings, while Cameron stays at No. 4.
“I moved Katie Taylor from fourth to second place on my list because of merit,” boxing commentator Bernardo Pilatti said. “Everything was against Taylor in the Rematch against Cameron. She was the underdog against an opponent who in the first fight was better at almost everything. Taylor had to adjust like never before and achieved a fantastic victory. At 36 years old, she is a two-division undisputed champion, a feat that not only add to her great career, but earns her the No. 2 spot on my list.”
Here’s the current top 10.
Note: Results are through Nov. 29.
1. CLARESSA SHIELDS Previous ranking: No. 1
RECORD: 14-0, 2 KOs
DIVISION: Middleweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Maricela Cornejo, June 3
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
2. KATIE TAYLOR Previous ranking: No. 3
RECORD: 23-1, 6 KOs
DIVISION: Lightweight and junior welterweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: W (MD10) Chantelle Cameron, Nov. 25
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
3. AMANDA SERRANO Previous ranking: No. 2
RECORD: 46-2-1, 30 KOs
DIVISION: Featherweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD12) Danila Ramos, Oct. 27
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
4. CHANTELLE CAMERON Previous ranking: No. 4
RECORD: 18-1, 8 KOs
DIVISION: Junior welterweight
LAST FIGHT: L (MD10) Katie Taylor, Nov. 25
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
5. SENIESA ESTRADA Previous ranking: No. 5
RECORD: 25-0, 9 KOs
DIVISION: Strawweight unified champion
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Leonela Yudica, July 28
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
6. MIKAELA MAYER Previous ranking: No. 6
RECORD: 19-1, 5 KOs
DIVISION: Junior lightweight
LAST FIGHT: W (UD10) Silvia Bortot, Sept. 2
NEXT FIGHT: Jan. 20 vs. Natasha Jonas
7. SAVANNAH MARSHALL Previous ranking: No. 7
RECORD: 13-1, 10 KOs
DIVISION: Super middleweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: W (MD10) Franchon Crews Dezurn, July 1
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
8. JESSICA MCCASKILL Previous ranking: No. 8
RECORD: 12-3-1, 5 KOs
DIVISION: Welterweight undisputed champion
LAST FIGHT: DRAW (SD10) Sandy Ryan, Sept. 23
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
9. NATASHA JONAS Previous ranking: No. 9
RECORD: 14-2-1, 9 KOs
DIVISION: Welterweight champion
LAST FIGHT: W (TKO10) Kandi Wyatt, July 1
NEXT FIGHT: Jan. 20 vs. Mikaela Mayer
10. DELFINE PERSOON Previous ranking: No. 10
RECORD: 48-3, 19 KOs
DIVISION: Junior lightweight
LAST FIGHT: W (SD10) Bo Mi Re Shin, May 28
NEXT FIGHT: TBA
The formula
The rankings are based on a descending points system, with a first-place vote receiving 10 points, a second-place vote receiving nine points and so on.
Others receiving votes: Yokasta Valle (4), Hyun Choi (2), Franchon Crews Dezurn (1), Skye Nicolson (1).
How our experts voted
Nick Parkinson: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Serrano, 4. Cameron, 5. Estrada, 6. Jonas, 7. Mayer, 8. Marshall, 9. McCaskill, 10. Nicolson
Salvador Rodriguez: 1. Taylor, 2. Shields, 3. Serrano, 4. Estrada, 5. Cameron, 6. Marshall, 7. Mayer, 8. McCaskill, 9. Jonas, 10. Valle
Bernardo Pilatti: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. Serrano, 4. Cameron, 5. Marshall, 6. McCaskill, 7. Jonas, 8. Estrada, 9. Mayer, 10. Crews-Dezurn
Charlie Moynihan: 1. Shields, 2. Serrano, 3. 3. Taylor, 4. Mayer, 5. Cameron, 6. Estrada, 7. Persoon, 8. Marshall, 9. Choi, 10. McCaskill
Claudia Trejos: 1. Taylor, 2. Shields, 3. Serrano, 4. Cameron, 5. Estrada, 6. Mayer, 7. Marshall, 8. McCaskill, 9. Jonas, 10. Persoon
Damian Delgado Averhoff: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. 3. Serrano, 4. Cameron, 5. Estrada, 6. Mayer, 7. Marshall, 8. Valle, 9. Persoon, 10. Jonas
Andrew Feldman: 1. Shields, 2. Taylor, 3. 3. Serrano, 4. Estrada, 5. Cameron, 6. Marshall, 7. Mayer, 8. McCaskill, 9. Jonas, 10. Persoon
ESPN experts’ poll
First place: Shields (5), Taylor (2)
Second place: Taylor (4), Shields (2), Serrano (1)
Third place: Serrano (6), Taylor (1)
Fourth place: Cameron (4), Estrada (2), Mayer (1)
Fifth place: Cameron (3), Estrada (3), Marshall (1)
Sixth place: Mayer (2), Marshall (2), Estrada (1), McCaskill (1), Jonas (1)
Seventh place: Mayer (3) Marshall (2), Jonas (1), Persoon (1)
Eighth place: McCaskill (3), Marshall (2), Estrada (1), Valle (1)
Ninth place: Jonas (3), Mayer (1), McCaskill (1), Persoon (1), Choi (1)
10th place: Persoon (2), McCaskill (1), Jonas (1), Valle (1), Crews-Dezurn (1), Nicolson (1)
Source: www.espn.com